<p>As I once again hear of MT applicants who were surprised and dissatisfied with the results of their audition process, I want to again urge h.s. juniors and families to consider using professional audition coaching to prepare their students for MT college auditions. The process has become so competitive, that just like for top athletes, students who are the best prepared for the process, no matter their talent, are the ones who will rise to the top. In many cities you can find coaching for song choice and prep, and monologue choice and prep by contacting professional theaters in your area. Just make sure that the coaches understand that the college audition process and expectations are very different from the usual stage audition process and expectations. If you do not have these resources, I recommend you find the threads in this forum that discuss coaching resources. Personally, I would highly recommend MTCA (Musical Theatre College Auditions). They have been coaching for over 20 years, and their students consistently make it into the top programs in the country, and usually have a number to choose from. Using SKYPE (which we did from Oregon) or meeting personally in NYC, they will assist you in finding songs and monologues that best fit you and are not overdone, coach you in presenting your choices using skills colleges are looking for, and can provide legit or mix/belt voice instruction to augment your skill base. If you are close to NYC, they also provide coaching for the dance portion and a multitude of workshops to help you learn how dance auditions work. They also provide help in coordinating college lists to fit your talents, opportunities in NYC and California for âmockâ auditions prior to college ones, and supply a presence at Unifieds, for support, further coaching, and parent angst! Both my daughter and I could have never made it through the process without them, and continue to feel we are part of the MTCA family! If you would like further information or to check out their website (soon to have the success of this yearâs class reported!) please personal message or email me, and I would be glad to help you out. Believe me, SKYPE works beautifully for this process and can be used all over the world! Costs are highly competitive with those of everyday voice lessons. We are done with this process (my daughter is at school in NYC) but I feel strongly that students and parents need to be aware of how difficult it can be and have the resources available to deal with it. Juniors, RIGHT NOW is the time to start coaching!
Good luck to all!</p>
<p>I second that Christie2. My daughter ended up with some amazing choices and I truly believe MTCA helped her to find the most suitable song choices and monologues. We started in the middle of Junior year. The earlier the better. When September rolls around the application process can be extremely time consuming and stressful. If you have narrowed down your audition pieces and have them in decent shape in September/October, your children will have an easier time with auditions as they will not be scrambling for material at the last minute. The more confidence, the better the results!! MTCA is a group of people who truly care and are brilliant in assessing and helping you to find and perfect your audition material and school choices for that matter. I too am happy to answer any PMâs.</p>
<p>Much as I want to join the MTCA lovefest here (and yes we do LOVE them!), I also want to point out that there are many options people can use, some of which are represented here on CC and some of which are not. </p>
<p>Be sure that if you are deciding on a coach, ask for references and talk to them about their experiences with the coach or coaching organization. A reputable coach will be happy to put you in touch with current and former clients. </p>
<p>Just like with schools, âfitâ is important in finding a coach. Just because XYZ coach has helped get kids into all the "topâ schools, doesnât mean he or she is going to click with you and understand who you are. Sometimes you have to shop around a bit (even within coaching teams) to find the person who really âgetsâ you and will listen to you. Do your due diligence! The best coach in the world is of no use if he or she is giving you material that is PERFECT for your âtypeâ but not for you as a human being.</p>
<p>Hi all â we worked with College Audition Coach Mary Anna Dennard starting in June of my boysâ junior year â and in hindsight we probably could have started earlier. (Note: It wasnât available last year when we started, but she now offers an online course, as well.) She was invaluable to us in navigating this confusing process â and especially when it came to figuring out repertoire for identical twins so that they each had distinct identities and types. I can honestly say, we couldnât have done it without her. She has a great rapport with her students and hosts informative master classes and audition workshops; and now with her online program, sheâs offering services to suit a range of budgets. But even if coaching isnât in your financial picture, Mary Annaâs book âI Got Inâ should be required reading for all the kids and parents going through this process.</p>
<p>Ditto to what MTTwinsinCA wrote. We started out reading her book âI Got Inâ which led to hiring her to coach our D, and attending her workshops. I hate to think where we would be today, had we not found her book.</p>
<p>Even if you canât afford coaching and classes, the info in the book is invaluable.</p>
<p>I read the book and I hired her too. Parents with kids going to college pay a lot more for SAT and other admissions testing programs. This is SO much harder to get accepted. The stress saved by not second guessing yourself and the money you save not applying to schools that are not for you, more than pay for this. No one here wants you to buy something you donât need. There is no guarantee you will get in the school of your dreams. A coach helps you find the best you and that is all she has to work with. The rest is up to you. But it is invaluable to have someone to talk to when things are going right⊠and things are going wrong. It gives you perspective. Coaching is not right for everyone. Some people want to do it all themselves. I have read a lot of posts from people who have had great success with no coaching.</p>
<p>I recently stumbled across a website called Indie Theatre Now, which markets itself as âThe digital theatre library for the 21st century.â I would compare it to a NewMusicalTheatre-esque sort of online store, but for plays instead of sheet music. They have about 400 plays for sale on this online store, all conforming to the following criteria:
Similar to NewMusicalTheatre, their database of plays is searchable by tags - one notable option is to search for plays where âCharacters are mostly young adultsâ.</li>
</ol>
<p>All of the plays are digital, and are cheaper than buying sheet music off of Musicnotes. I think itâs a really lovely website and a great resource for people looking to avoid the curse of doing something overdone in an audition!</p>
<p>CanadianMTGirl, look into Canadian Drama (Canadian Theatre Review for example). Good likelihood that it WONâT be overdone.</p>
<p>I think as an international student, you have to be really careful about the material you choose for each school. I have Canadian schools that specifically request Canadian plays, American schools that specifically request American plays, and schools from both countries that donât specify at all (Iâm going to need to make some more calls!). Just another thing to add to the spreadsheetâŠ</p>
<p>Not sure if this will post correctly, but there is an interesting article in âNextStepUâ magazine online entitled âSo You Want to Be on Broadwayâ with interviews from recent students who are studying MT at various colleges: </p>
<p>[NextStepU</a> - November/December 2012 - Version 2](<a href=âhttp://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nextstep/nextstepu_20121112_v2/index.php?dyn=TX#/0]NextStepUâ>http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nextstep/nextstepu_20121112_v2/index.php?dyn=TX#/0)</p>
<p>^^While there is certainly good info in the article you linked I get uncomfortable with statements that suggest that âmost studentsâ are using a coach. Iâm not sure if that is statistically true. Could be but I have my doubts. </p>
<p>I know you had great success with this coach and I have no doubt she and many other wonderful coaches do a lot for their students. I am not anti-coach by any means but this article reads a bit like an ad for for coaching services. Itâs kind of a slippery slope.</p>
<p>I Got In! by Mary Anna Dennard is great</p>
<p>Could anyone weigh in on comparing the help from coaching versus the experience from a summer program such as MPulse in getting prepared for auditions?</p>
<p>^^^ This thread is for sharing books/resources for MT and it would be better if you start a new thread with your query and youâll get more responses and it will also keep the discussions organized by topic.</p>
<p>Thanks soozievt! Iâm new here so I appreciate the suggestion.</p>
<p>Hereâs a great new resource for MT / Acting kids: Mary Anna Dennardâs website has a new page totally dedicated to preparing for PRESCREEN auditions, with a great video you can buy â 45 minutes FULL of info about how to prepare. (I just saw it and it is FABULOUS â Oh, how I wish weâd had it before college audition season). <strong><em>NOTE - It is a standalone purchase, so you donât have to use Mary Anna for coaching to buy it.</em></strong> It is entitled âShow Your Best Self: Creating Your Prescreen Auditionâ. I know weâre not allowed to link here, but Mary Annaâs site is Collegeauditioncoach dot com â click on âprescreenâ up top to find the video with preview and to purchase.</p>
<p>adding to my post #96, I just read that Mary Annaâs new prescreen video is FREE for a limited time if you use the promo code ACCEPTD For those of you wondering about Mary Anna, this is a great time to see her in action at NO COST. break legs, all!</p>
<p>S love "I Got Inâ by Maryann Dennard, CCM also recommended that at the summer program he attend.</p>
<p>I also purchased Teen Pop Broadway Collection compiled by Rider Universityâs head of Musical Theatre, Mariann Cook. He found a song in here he thought would be perfect for auditions. Turns out the character is 34 years old, so you have to be careful to research the characters. I assumed everything from this book would be age appropriate for auditions. He found one he connected to etc. but isnât the right character age. Still a good resource however.</p>
<p>Hi! My name is Emily Schexnaydre and Iâm a senior Musical Theatre major at CCM! I have a blog about surviving conservatory life. My first post is about auditioning and I will continue to post about how to get into a conservatory. Please use it as a resource if you want. </p>
<p>Hereâs the link below! Thank you!</p>
<p>[Surviving</a> Life in a Conservatory](<a href=âhttp://survivingccm.blogspot.com/]Survivingâ>http://survivingccm.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>Great advice!</p>